WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE "GAME"?

When your parents told you, “You are not wearing THAT to (Mass, school, the party, court,) it wasn’t that they were trying to stifle your creativity or diminish your being, it was because they understood that our presence among other human beings is not all about you.  How you dress also says something about what you think about other people.  

So you go to a job interview.  I WILL GRANT YOU that the possible future boss should only see the interviewee for his talents and capabilities.  That, in a perfect world, if he came to the interview for a sales position in ratty sneakers, a concert T-shirt, and mussed hair it shouldn’t matter.  It is the person who matters.

But it does.  And the message cuts both ways.  In a perfect world, we would also all respect each other.

The message the person in this scenario is putting forth is “You and your job are really not all that important to me.  I may not be all that reliable and I may not respect you all that much.”  It is for similar reasons that a suspected murderer on trial is dressed up in the most conventional of clothing - a dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes.  It (attempts) to scream, “I respect these proceedings, I respect the judge and jury, I am taking this seriously, and see how respectable I look.”

It isn’t all about the person wearing the clothes, it is also about what that person is saying  about the people around him or her.

It is for similar reasons I am disappointed in Cam Newton.  I understand that he is extremely disappointed and heartbroken.  I understand his emotions perhaps got the best of him.  But if I was his Dad, we would be having a “Come to Jesus” talk.

“Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”  Well, there is an obvious truth to his statement.  But show me a sore loser and I’ll show you someone who should be sent to bed without his supper.  Men have lost WARS AND NATIONS with more dignity than Mr. Newton.  This was a football game.  If we lose the idea that these men are there for than to play a game, if we give up on the idea that they are also there to set an example, to show us why we should be promoting sports in our schools and among our youth, if we throwout with increasingly greater ease the ideals of sportsmanship, gentlemanliness, honor, dignity, and care about “the other,” then stop the game.  It has gone on too long and we have forgotten why we started “playing” in the first place.  It isn’t all about the football players.  It is about those for whom they play too.

Compare that to this letter from the St. Ambrose basketball coach that describes an incident that happened with our seventh grade boy’s basketball team.

To the Players, Parents, Parish, and community of St. Sebastian,

Yesterday the St. Ambrose boys basketball team played your young men in a hard fought and well contested game. During the contest, one of St. Ambrose's players fell to the ground. ALL FIVE of your players walked to the aid of my player to help him up. Your young men lived the prayers recited before and after each game. By their example they taught my team and the entire gym how to "teach our faith to others by our actions".

These young men deserve to be commended for their strength and courage to "finish the race". Playing with only five players due to injury and illness, they competed to the very end. They played fair and strong through all four quarters. Again your team lived our prayer by "playing fair" and taking on the "challenge" of this game.

To your players and Coach, I want to thank you for teaching myself, my team, and my community the lessons we repeat before and after each game. With strong, courageous, and faithful young men on your team, I am positive the future is bright at St. Sebastian. Please thank your team, your parents, and your community for teaching our Catholic faith to these young men. You are all doing a great job as evidenced by them.

Gratefully,

Craig Tobias

St. Ambrose 7th grade boys basketball

Compare that to one of Mr. Newton’s comments excusing his behavior: “If I offended anybody that’s cool, but I know who I am and I’m not abut to conform nor bend for anybody’s expectations because yours or anybody’s expectations would never exceed mine.”  That would be disappointingly unacceptable even for a 7th grade boy.

MANY MEMBERS MISS MASS MINDING MEGACHURCH MESSAGE

And the ground shook. We looked up into the sky for signs of the parousia for such a momentous event points to mighty works that only God could accomplish. And if He were wielding His mighty right arm with such strength, it must mean the end is near for Satvicwarrior and I have agreed upon something.

To come close to quoting him he says that the Church is totally out of step with the faithful who are so with the times. I could not agree more. Furthermore I would venture to say that this has been true for some 2,000 years and will likely be so in the future. It is the perennial accusation lobbied at the Church and not one she is likely to take as a negative.

That being said it is no hidden secret that many Catholics have left the Church particularly for Protestant mega-churches over the past few decades. Many have sprung up around northeast Ohio and a census of their membership reveals anywhere from a good chunk to a majority of their members being ex-Catholics.

A meeting was held recently to discuss this trend. Reasons cited for people joining such churches include an “accept Jesus and you are saved” message, that they often offer a more friendly atmosphere, are more entertaining, have more programs, are more with the times, make people feel more included, and they have more of an emphasis on evangelization.

Ideas for stemming the tide of those leaving include not worrying about it (for it will run its course) to teaching our people apologetics. I doubt either will prove very effective.

There is always making the mass more entertaining but that will also fail miserably. We are not good entertainers and the mass does not lend itself to entertainment very well. The mass can come off looking like a middle aged man in a midlife crisis trying to dress like an 18 year old, using popular slang and driving a red convertible sports car. Even if he pulls it off he comes across as someone about whom you think something is just not quite right.

We have only one thing that works. We have only one thing that nobody else has. We have only one thing that we do really, really well. We have the Eucharist. If everything we do does not somehow flow from and to the Eucharist we will bleed parishioners.

People leave the Catholic Church because the (you choose the denomination) down the street (pick one: serves more donuts, has youth dances, has a senior group, doesn’t ask for money, is anybody except our cranky pastor, insert your own reason here.) And for most areas these are good reasons but not if you believe in the Eucharist.

Most mega churches are service-oriented Churches; that is, they provide services for their membership. The Catholic Church is also a service-oriented institution, but we mean get your own behind up out of the pew and do something. It might behoove you to join a church that will provide you with services but not if you believe John 6 concerning the Eucharist.

It might be more fun to go to a church whose focus is to distract and entertain you rather asking you to participate through a concerted effort, but not if you believe that Christ established a Church and entrusted it with his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Perhaps it would be beneficial to join a church that agrees with your theology rather than a set theology handed down from apostolic times, but not if you knew that it would mean you would be leaving the opportunity to touch Christ directly on earth.

Mass must be absurdly focused the Eucharist. Education must flow from our celebration of the Eucharist and back to it. Sports, Scripture studies, picnics, men’s groups, women’s guilds, societies, banquets, everything must get their inspiration from and point back to the Eucharist or we’ve nothing really special to offer.

Most important are youth groups. They cannot simply be opportunities for youth to get together and feel welcomed or entertained. They can do that anywhere. They can’t be connected to the Eucharist anywhere. The youth groups in Cleveland that are the most successful and spawn vocations are those that continually focus everything back to the Eucharist.

Faith is more than about us. It’s more than simply educating Christians even when teaching absolute truth. It is about a relationship, a relationship with Jesus Christ. And nowhere else can you directly see Him, worship Him, touch Him, and bring Him into yourself. Only in the Catholic Church. We must start operating at every level personally and institutionally as if we actually believe this truth.

OF CROWN, MITERS, AND HOT DOGS

Spiritual reflections on the crown of thorns often focus on the physical pain that it caused Jesus. One might picture two guards with mischievous glee, thinking that they had a riotous idea, sneaking away, the one goading the other into making a crown “for the so called king.” “We’ll make it out of the branches of this thorn bush,” he says with conspiratorial slyness and with great fervor they attack the dry bush, ripping at its branches and carefully weaving a crown careful lest they should puncture their own flesh with its thorns.

Soon back in front of the crowd and standing next to Jesus one of them, the one who had the idea originally, shouts something along the lines of, “Every king should have a crown shouldn’t he? What think you of this one?” As they cheer, the crown is slammed down upon the sacred head of Our Savior.

It is here that many speculate about the length and number of thorns, how deeply they must have dug into his scalp, the blood that escaped from His body and His helplessness in reaching up to ease His torment. But perhaps the physical pain is not the most insidious part of this cruel venture.

While not exactly denying His kingship, they instead ridicule His claim to kingship; make light of it, denying that it has any meaning. They do not listen or debate His ideas, they make fun of the man and destroy His message. It is a degrading and cheap yet effective way to silence a voice and discredit a person and destroy his dignity. How terribly frustrating it must be to have what you know is a good message and to have your credibility so wickedly destroyed that no amount of speaking will persuade anyone to take what you have to say seriously even if it be for their own good.

Alice Von Hildebrand stated, “(Ridicule) was, for example, the poison tool used against Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, making him the butt of cruel jokes. His noble message was doomed.”

Is this why Christ remained silent?

IN OTHER NEWS:

Bishop Lennon, the new bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland held his first Chrism Mass with his priests yesterday. It was a stunningly beautiful liturgy and with an equally moving message in his homily. He called his sons to fidelity to Christ, His Church, and Scripture and Tradition.

This was connected to his mentioning of his visit to all of the Catholic high schools in the diocese. During his visits he spoke with student representatives of each of the schools for a minimum of an hour. When asked what they want from their high schools, the students resolutely spoke of wanting to know what their faith teaches. They are confused but are willing to engage the faith fully IF WE GIVE THEM WHAT THEY NEED. Perhaps this is sign of good things to come from this bishop, especially in light of some things that will be happening over the Triduum:

Some of our Catholic high schools are scheduling games during Good Friday. In at least one case, it is a Catholic school against another Catholic school. Another school is scheduling an AWAY game for over the Easter weekend. Have they lost their collective minds? Have these schools who have students in them thirsting for the faith losing sight of our mission? What in the name of all get out (I’d love to be more forceful here) are they thinking? What more important day should families be together in their parish to celebrate than on the holiest day of the Christian calendar? I am furious.

That being said, the chancellor has refused requests to release people from fast and abstinence this Friday (kudos to him). Why do they want it? Because it is the home opener for the Cleveland Indians. Sheesh!